A new campaign to place the Iraq war in the center of Iowa's presidential caucus races kicked off in Des Moines yesterday. But as often happens, it wasn't so much the protest that made the story as the reaction to it.

"Seasons Of Discontent--A Presidential Occupation Campaign," or SODAPOP as its organizers dubbed it, targeted the campaigns of Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, taking over their offices in the Iowa state capital and disrupting both campaigns for several hours before a total of 19 people were arrested.

The "law and order" Giuliani campaign waited only about two hours to call on the suburban Clive, Iowa police to arrest 10 activists. The Clinton campaign appeared more reluctant to remove the protesters, waiting almost eight hours before requesting the Des Moines Police Department remove nine activists. The last two hours of the Clinton occupation generated reactions from young staffers that typically send a candidate's damage control unit into overtime, especially when that candidate is trying to appeal to rock-solid Democratic voters.

The nine, along with a handful of supporters, called on Clinton's Ingersoll Ave. office at 1:30pm, telling staffer David Barnhart that they had come for the Senator's response to a letter they had sent her a month earlier, asking her to publicly pledge "to take the necessary concrete steps to end the Iraq war, to rebuild Iraq, to foreswear military attacks on other countries, and to fully fund the Common Good in the U.S."

Barnhart ended a brief exchange with Catholic Peace Ministry director, Brian Terrell by saying, "Look, nobody wants to end the war in Iraq more than Hillary Clinton. We love to hear a diversity of opinion, but we are asking you to leave now."

Ignoring Barnhart's request, the occupiers spent until 8:00pm reading the names of Iraqis and U.S. soldiers killed in the war, taping "End the Iraq War" flyers onto Clinton campaign signs, taking a brief turn calling registered voters to inform them of Clinton's war votes before the phone was disconnected, having limited success engaging staffers and volunteers in discussion, and making enough racket doing so to make it difficult to continue business as usual. In twos and threes throughout the afternoon, all the campaign volunteers and most of the staff departed.

At 6:30, Terrell and Farah Mokhtareizadeh, a 24 year-old peace activist
from Philadelphia, followed by two reporters, drove across town to
Clinton's Second Street office. Through the building's glass doors they
saw a group of about 25 people but found the door locked. First
Terrell, and then the reporters, asked to come in. One reporter, told
earlier in the day that all statements for the Clinton campaign had to
come from press secretary Mark Daly, asked unsuccessfully to speak with
him. Staff members ushered the knot of volunteers into an interior
room, leaving a half-dozen of their colleagues in the outer area who
proceeded to ignore not only Terrell and the reporters, but over the
next half hour, more than a dozen volunteers and paid staff, all
surprised to see the doors locked and unable to get anyone's attention
from inside.

At one point the reporters went to a side window to try and observe
what was happening, only to have a large "Hillary" sign placed to block
their view. At that, the four drove back to the Ingersoll Avenue office.

Shortly after they returned, Mokhtareizadeh began reading the famous
speech that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave on April 4, 1967 at
Riverside Church in New York, titled "Declaration of Independence from
the Vietnam War." The most frequently quoted lines in it are, "A nation
that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense
than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death," but
it also contains a prophetic warning from the Buddhist leaders of
Vietnam.

"Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the hearts of the
Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The
Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies.
It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the
possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process
they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat."

Moments after those lines were read, a booming guitar riff thundered
from the open door of a work room adjoining the space held by the
occupiers, drowning out King's words. Mokhtareizadeh picked up a
bullhorn and continued King's speech, overpowering the music.

Shortly thereafter, the decible battle ended in success for the
occupiers and King's speech continued at a humane level. A reporter
went to the office from which the music had emanated and asked the
staff member if he wanted to give a statement about the odd
juxtaposition posed by a speech of Martin Luther King's being drowned
out in a prominent Democrat's Iowa campaign headquarters. The
unidentified staff member declined and referred the reporter to Mr.
Daly.

At the conclusion of the King speech, Robert Braam, a 51 year-old
cabinetmaker from Manhattan, Illinois took up reading the names of
Iraqis killed in the war until through the main door strode an
assertive, middle-aged woman who went about the office introducing
herself with a firm handshake to every protester, as Teresa Vilman of
the Hillary Clinton campaign. "I'll give you three minutes to leave and
then I'll call the police," she said, smiling, "which I guess is what
you want anyway."

With that, Vilman directed the remaining staffers to take down the
numerous "End the Iraq War" flyers and remove all traces of the
occupation. She cheerily asked the protesters, "If you don't mind,
would you please take the empty water bottles with you?"

No one objected to her request, but David Goodner, a senior at the
University of Iowa, retorted, "If you don't mind, would you please get
Mrs. Clinton on the phone for us?" And Des Moines resident, Mona Shaw,
56, added, "And if she doesn't mind, ask her to keep from invading
Iran."

Within minutes, five police cars and over a dozen officers began
rolling into the campaign office's parking lot. At Captain Bob Clock's
request, Vilman went up to every activist and the reporters, asking
each to leave. Supporters of the occupiers who did not intend to be
arrested, and the reporters exited the office. Not long afterward, Des
Moines police officers led nine handcuffed occupiers out of the Hillary
Clinton campaign office and into a waiting paddy wagon. The ninth was
Mokhtareizadeh, who, throughout the day was not planning on being among
the arrestees. As she returned inside the office to submit to the
police, she said, "After reading that whole speech from Dr. King, I
just had to get arrested with the others."

Organizers say the protests in Iowa will continue, with more
occupations slated for December 29 to January 3, 2008 as the caucuses
take place. They hope peace activists will generate similar actions in
other states as the presidential primary season develops, and challenge
candidates "as
they make public appearances around the state without regard for
arbitrary 'free speech zone' restrictions that may be established by
candidates, parties, police or the Secret Service."

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him business partner kerrick Giuliani almost make the homeland security czar of usa but now the investigate and hearing of the whores and the rich man condo on policeman salary. Am him the clean police? Conservative values ameriki?

him to serving the homosexual and disobey him bible, but still acting the proud. him to wanting man to marry man, man to marry donkey, and woman to marry the woman. so sick and show the destroy of ameriki society.

him Giuliani to obey every command of masters in tel aviv. him like puppet on fish line. am this make the geo. washington and benjamin frankling proud?

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